The cheapest Mini Countryman is gray again – Back to Basics

Mini Countryman E Essential – €43,590

The car you see above this story is the cheapest version of the new Mini Countryman. The first question that arises is this: is it electric for this money, or is there a petrol engine under that large hood? The former appears to be the case, because partly due to its absent CO2 emissions, the electric Mini Countryman E is just a few thousand euros cheaper than the comparable, petrol-fired Mini Countryman C. ‘C’ and ‘E’ in this case purely stand for the engine, a name will be added for the version. The Mini Countryman is available as (from top to bottom) John Cooper Works, Favored Trim, Classic and Essential.

With that name, Mini seems to want to say something: whoever chooses this variant, only gets what is absolutely necessary. Apparently a color is not part of this, because Mini offers a choice of gray and black. No surprise, because previous Minis in this section were also all gray. A real shame, because for a colorful brand like Mini it would be nice if the basic version were at least available in a real color. The roof is painted as standard in the same depressing shade and we recognize the wheels from the BMW X1, which, not coincidentally, served as the basis for the Countryman. The Countryman also borrowed its 204 hp drivetrain from the electric BMW iX1 eDrive20, but compared to that BMW (€48,475), the Mini is less expensive. The electric Mini Countryman in this trim can travel up to 461 kilometers on a full battery. On the outside there is another easy way to recognize a simple Mini: its headlights. More expensive models usually have nicer ones with an LED edge along the top as daytime running light, the Essential has two horizontal stripes through the unit.

The interior makes us happy. This is due to the striking round infotainment screen, but also due to the alternation of black, blue and a kind of copper color. The interior of the basic Mini certainly does not look bare and feels as ‘premium’ as Mini claims to be. When it comes to equipment, Mini certainly doesn’t just stick to essentials. For example, automatic climate control is included, as is navigation, a center armrest, parking sensors all around and (non-adaptive) cruise control. That does not mean that nothing remains to be desired. For example, you pay extra for seat heating, but also for keyless access, adaptive cruise control, alarm and a wireless charging station for your phone. It becomes clear when we start dressing that Mini versions have more flavors and the options list is almost endless. This is done through packages called XS to XL and prices rise to more than €10,000 per package. The simplest S package costs €1,300, includes seat heating and is standard on the Mini Countryman E Classic, which is €2,000 more expensive in total and offers a choice of all kinds of paint colors that are not available for the Essential, such as red, at no extra cost. and green. For that reason alone, that small step up would be worth it for us. At least… as a business driver. As a private individual, you miss out on this step to €46,590 SEPP subsidy, because the tax value now ends above 45 grand. Then just gray…